1. Field of Invention
This invention relates generally to forming a bundled stack of discarded newspapers so that they can be transported to a recycling facility, and more particularly to a carton adapted to receive a stack of newspapers to form a transport pack which can, in toto, be recycled at the facility.
2. Status of Prior Art
Environmental protection and the avoidance of waste are now matters of national concern. As a consequence, households in most communities throughout the United States are no longer permitted to treat discarded newspapers as trash to be commingled with garbage. It is now generally mandated that after daily newspapers have served their purpose, they must be stacked and bundled so that they can be picked up at the end of the week or at some other interval by a municipal recycling agency.
Newspapers are printed on long paper sheets which are folded in half to produce four pages. A standard newspaper has a page size of about 14 by 22 inches, whereas the page size of a tabloid is about 14 by 11 inches. However, while a tabloid is delivered to its readers in an unfolded state, the standard newspaper is composed of several sections, each being folded in half. Hence the rectangular dimensions of a standard folded newspaper are about the same as those of an unfolded tabloid. Because of this, tabloids and standard newspapers lend themselves to stacking in the same pile.
After a newspaper has been read by members of a household, it is often generally then in disarray. If, therefore, the newspapers are to be saved for recycling, they must be restored to a somewhat orderly state so that they can be handled in bulk. But if the newspapers to be recycled are stored, say, in a closet or in a basement, it becomes troublesome to produce an orderly pile. As one stacks the papers accumulated in a given day over those laid down from previous days, unless care is exercised, one does not usually succeed in avoiding disarray, for as the pile grows in height, the newspapers are then often askew. This makes it difficult when the time comes to bundle the stack to encircle the stack with a tying cord.
Moreover, a stack of loose newspapers may create a somewhat hazardous condition in the typical household, for loose papers may be blown off the stack by a draft. And if the papers are stacked in a kitchen having a gas-fueled stove, these papers may catch on fire. Quite apart from these considerations is the fact that an exposed pile of newspapers in a kitchen, basement or elsewhere in the household is untidy. Thus while it is the common practice to collect household garbage in plastic trash bags which are concealed in attractive containers having a pivoted lid, there is no equivalent device for newspapers.
To facilitate the stacking and bundling of discarded newspapers, my prior U.S. Pat. No. 5,150,646 discloses a form in which newspapers to be recycled may be piled to create a stack thereof which is then tied into a bundle which can be removed from the form and transported as a bundle to a recycling facility.
This form is composed of a pair of complementary sections whose dimensions are such as to accommodate folded standard newspapers and unfolded tabloids. Each section of the form is created from a cardboard blank that is scored, slotted and die cut to define a side wall and major and minor end walls at right angles thereto, each of these walls having a fold-in bottom flap. Projecting from the minor end wall is a locking tongue and cut into the major end wall is a slot to receive a locking tongue.
To assemble the form, the sections are placed in opposing relation with their minor and major end walls overlapped, the locking tongue of one section being received in the slot of the other section. In its assembled state, the fold-in flaps of the walls are overlapped at the corners of the form to maintain its rectangular shape. Keyhole slots at the upper edges of the form serve to hold the ends of two cords, one extending longitudinally along the bottom of the form below the papers to be stacked therein and the other extending transversely. After the form is loaded with a pile of stacked papers, the cords are withdrawn from their keyhole slots and tied to bundle the pile which can then be removed from the form.
While my patented form is effective for its intended purpose, it suffers from practical drawbacks which militate against its widespread adoption. It is not only necessary for the user to set up the form by joining together two complementary sections, but before the form can be put to use, the ends of two cords must be inserted into keyhole slots so that the newspapers can then be piled onto the cords which extend along the bottom of the form.
And when the form is loaded with newspapers, the user must then remove the ends of the cords from the keyhole slots and tie them into knots to form a bundle which must then be removed from the form.
While this procedure entails no particular skill, it is bothersome to many users. Moreover, the user must keep in stock, not only the cardboard sections for creating forms, but also cords of the proper length for the bundling of the stack.